


Unlocked

by cat_77



Series: Flufftober 2018 [4]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-25 10:23:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16195622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cat_77/pseuds/cat_77
Summary: It was a monumental gift.  So of course he had to screw it all up and lose the damned thing.





	Unlocked

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt of “key.”
> 
> * * *

The day had been far longer than it had any right to be. Technically days, plural, if he wanted to be pedantic. 

Yesterday had been relatively normal. He had woken up, gotten dressed, grabbed a coffee and a bagel on the way to the Institute, and even managed to eat the whole thing before any real interruptions. Of course those interruptions had led to a pondering that was more instinct than not, which had led to research, which had led to investigation, which had led to him joining a late night patrol.

The patrol had netted them a landmine of demon activity which had been not much more than a cover for some Downworlder shenanigans which had pointed them in the direction of some far more powerful players. Fast forward seven hours and he was dragging Jace to the Infirmary because Clary and Isabelle were barely holding each other up. They had won though, saved the day and all that. Well, days, really.

His clothing had not been quite so lucky as the day (days) though and had been ripped and torn and drenched in ichor and more than a little venom. He had applied the appropriate runes and showered back at the Institute and, aside from a few lingering aches and quite a lot of exhaustion, he was perfectly fine and finally headed back to the loft to try to convince Magnus of the same.

He had barely managed to keep his boyfriend from the battle, really. The need to protect some innocents as well as sort out two squirrelly warlocks that may or may not have had a role in everything won out though, and they had been communicating via sarcastic texts to assure each other that they would both be able to meet for a real dinner shortly.

So Alec trudged up the steps and thought of warm food with rich flavors and brightly colored sheets that would be soft against his no longer abraded skin. When he finally made it to the dark double doors, he reached for his key, only to find it missing. He patted himself down to no avail. He did it again anyway just to be sure. And then he plopped down on the floor and resisted the urge to bang his head against the wall.

The key had been in the pocket of his jeans. The jeans he had worn when he last left the loft. The jeans that had been shredded and soaked in all manner of things. The jeans he was no longer wearing.

He knew from the last series of texts that Magnus was about twenty minutes out still. There had been some final things to wrap up and he wasn’t going to stop him from doing so or nag him or anything like that. Instead, he rested his head against the wall and simply waited. 

He was an archer. He was good at waiting.

While he waited, he thought about just when Magnus had handed him that tiny bit of metal. “You are always welcome here,” he had told him before a quick kiss and before they both ran off to their separate emergencies. He had spent more nights than not there, more days as well, with the extravagance of the loft feeling more and more like home than his increasingly little used room back at the Institute. He had grown accustomed to waking wrapped in soft fabrics and a warm embrace, to reading while stretched out on the couch with the doors wide open to the life of the city around them and Magnus tinkering away at something nearby.

The fact that Magnus accepted him in his space, welcomed him to share that which was his was monumental. He had never had a non-family member trust him so much. Had never given anyone a reason to. 

So of course he had to screw it all up and lose the damned thing.

His exhaustion may have started to get the better of him as he startled to hear footsteps in the stairwell. Slow. Steady. Determined. He turned his head to watch the now drooping yet still familiar spikes appear, one plateaued level at a time.

“Hey,” he called in greeting.

Magnus paused and looked at him curiously. He was clearly just as tired as Alec himself, which both explained the lack of an energy draining portal as well as meant a far higher likelihood of food being summoned versus cooked, but that was neither here nor there at the moment. Instead, he focused on the way Magnus asked, “Whatever are you doing out here on the hard cement when there are perfectly comfortable chairs inside?”

Alec pushed himself upright and sheepishly admitted, “I might have kind of lost the key you gave me today.”

“And?” Magnus prompted as though that was not answer enough. His eyebrows raised as his mind caught up with the current situation. Or maybe not since his next action was to kiss him on the temple, and then on the lips before he said, “I told you that you were always welcomed here.”

“But I lost the key,” Alec repeated.

Magnus reached for him and he thought he was going to lead him into the loft. Instead, he placed Alec’s hand on the door handle and gestured for him to give it a try. When it turned easily enough and the heavy wood swung open, he explained, “Warlock, remember? The wards know you and welcome you, even if I’m not here, little piece of metal or no.”

“Oh,” Alec said with far less than his usual level of intelligence.

“Oh,” Magnus mimicked before he leaned in for another kiss. He finally pushed his way into the loft and declared, “I feel like eating my weight in dim sum and then passing out on the couch; does that sound like a plan?”

Alec followed him in and let the door close behind him. “Can we at least try to make it to an actual mattress?”

“We can try, but no guarantees,” Magnus agreed.

The next morning, when Alec dragged himself away from the combined weight of blankets and his lover, he reached for his jacket on its little hook by the door. Next to it was another shiny bit of metal and attached to that was a note that read, “Just in case you need the reminder.”

With a smile, he tucked both into his pocket and headed out to start the day.


End file.
